| Amid Coronavirus IMF Gives
$147M to Gabon No Mention of Longtime Family
Rule
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
April 9 –
Before the International
Monetary Fund's February 13
embargoed briefing,
Inner City Press asked the IMF
to confirm or deny something
in the crypto-currency media,
that "IMF ADVISES EASTERN
CARIBBEAN STATES TO TRIAL
DIGITAL CURRENCY." See below.
Now on
April 9 amid the Coronavirus
crisis the IMF on Gabon
announced that "the Executive
Board of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) today
approved the disbursement of
SDR108 million (about US$147
million) to be drawn under the
Rapid Financing Instrument
(RFI). This will assist Gabon
in meeting the urgent balance
of payments needs stemming
from the COVID-19 pandemic and
the terms of trade
shocks. The COVID-19
pandemic and concurrent
collapse in oil prices are
expected to put the economy
under extreme stress,
particularly in a context of
limited financial buffers.
Economic activity will slow,
and the fiscal and external
positions will weaken,
creating significant
additional financing needs. In
addition to immediate measures
of containment, including
border closures and curfews,
the authorities are also
taking significant steps to
strengthen health policy
responses and support
households and firms.
The RFI funds will help create
fiscal space for essential
COVID19-related expenditure
and catalyze donor support.
The size and impact of the
shocks is, however, subject to
a considerable margin of
uncertainty. The IMF continues
to monitor Gabon’s situation
closely and stands ready to
provide policy advice and
further financial support if
needed, in collaboration with
other donors."
The long
time family rule of the
country was not addressed, nor
have several of Inner City
Press pending question been
answered. But we remain
hopeful.
Inner City Press
covers not only the IMF but
also all things crypto in the
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York,
for example SEC
v. Telegram and the
prosecution of Virgil
Griffith formerly of
Ethereum. Inner
City Press asked the IMF, "It
is reported that to the
Eastern Caribbean Currency
Union, the IMF suggests to
experiment with a common
digital currency, on a
blockchain. Can you
elaborate?"
While IMF
spokesperson Gerry Rice during
the briefing answered
Inner City Press' Somalia and
Egypt questions, it was
afterward that this answer
arrived by e-mail,
"attributable to Gerry Rice,
IMF Spokesman and Director of
Communications:
'The IMF did not
suggest to experiment with a
common digital currency. In
March 2019, the Eastern
Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB)
launched a central bank
digital currency pilot
project, using blockchain
technology, on its own
initiative.
As noted
in the IMF Concluding
Statement of the 2019
discussion on the common
policies of the Eastern
Caribbean Currency Union
(ECCU) member countries, the
digital currency could expose
the ECCB and the financial
system to various risks,
including for financial
intermediation, financial
integrity, and cybersecurity.
Given these risks of the
digital currency, the IMF
stressed that the ongoing
pilot project should proceed
cautiously.”
So there. (A
OneCoin / Bulgaria question
remains outstanding). We
appreciate the IMF's answer.
Watch this site, for IMF news
and... all things crypto,
good, bad and ugly.
***
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